For nurses and healthcare professionals who write

Your clinical knowledge took years to build. When you write it up for a journal or a qualification, it needs to read as clearly as you understand it. I copy edit and proofread nursing and healthcare writing so it reads well and stays consistent from the first page to the last. Every project is edited by me, personally.

I’m the former managing editor of the British Journal of Nursing and Gastrointestinal Nursing, and I’ve spent 25+ years editing clinical and healthcare writing.

Nursing and healthcare copy editing and proofreading

Editing for every kind of nursing and healthcare work

Your work might be a dissertation, a clinical article headed for a journal, or a manual or book for your field. Here’s the editing that fits each one.

I edit and proofread work you’ve already written. I’m not a ghostwriter, and I don’t write or create content from scratch.

Whatever service you need, the care behind it is the same. Every project comes with both copy editing and proofreading, together with practical advice in the document. I also provide aftercare: once you've made your changes in response to my edits, I'll recheck those changes at no extra cost.

Who you’re working with

I’m Tara, and I’ve spent my career as a professional editor. My nursing and healthcare work has ranged from wound care and tissue viability to midwifery and clinical governance. Keeping a journal’s articles consistent to one house style, across many authors and issues, was a large part of it. That kind of consistency is exactly what a clinical article or thesis needs. Every project is edited by me, personally, from the first read to the last.

If you’d like to know more about me and the work I do, you can read about my background and experience.

Tara Foss Freelance Copy Editor

What’s included

Here’s what you can expect when I edit your work:

  • Both copy editing and proofreading, on every project

  • Two full reads of your work

  • Comments and practical advice in the document

  • A tracked-changes version and a clean final version

  • Formatting to your required style guide, including APA and Vancouver

  • Citations and references styled and made consistent throughout

  • Aftercare on every project

See how my editing process works.

Your expertise stays yours

You’re the clinical expert, so everything I do starts from that. My job is to make your writing as clear and precise as possible. I’ll make sure your findings and your conclusions come through and land well, in your own voice. I don’t write your content or check your facts or your sources, because the clinical accuracy is yours to stand behind. If an edit might change your meaning, I’ll flag it and check with you first. When your work comes back, it still reads like you, just clearer.

What my clients say and the work I’ve completed

Tara has worked for our business for over 10 years. She is always kind and helpful providing the highest quality editing with a fast and reliable approach, that can be trusted to be on time. She has met some very tight deadlines for us.
— Linda Rafter, Nurse Consultant, Wound Care Solutions
Tara has helped to edit and proof-read assignments for my MSc. Her great attention to detail in grammar, sentence structure, formatting, and referencing has resulted in quality writing and excellent marks. She returns work very quickly too. I would have no hesitation in recommending her outstanding editing services.
— S.D., MSc nursing

Wound care and tissue viability

Clinical articles and best-practice guidance on wound care and tissue viability, a scoping review on wound healing, pressure-area and repositioning guidance, and clinical content for wound-dressing and medical-device manufacturers.

Midwifery and maternity

Midwifery and maternity writing, including a maternity and childbirth manual and practice guidance for clinicians.

Telehealth and remote care

Clinical and practitioner-facing content for telehealth and telerehabilitation, including remote-care and remote-therapy guidance.

Pain management and allied health

Pain prevention and management manuals, and editing across allied health and therapeutic practice.

Clinical governance and reflective practice

Clinical governance writing, including root-cause analysis, safeguarding, and reflective accounts written for professional development and revalidation.

What it costs

Pricing is simple and all-inclusive, with no add-ons or surprises.

Questions people often ask

Can you edit to APA, Vancouver, or my university or journal’s style?

Yes. APA and Vancouver are the usual standards in nursing and healthcare, and I work to either, as well as Harvard or whatever guide your university or journal asks for. Send me the style you’re following and I’ll apply it consistently across the whole document, from your headings and in-text citations to your reference list. If you don’t have a set style, I’ll keep everything consistent and note the choices I’ve made.

Can you help me get a clinical article ready for a journal?

Yes, and it’s work I know well. I spent years as a managing editor of nursing journals, so I understand what editors and reviewers look for and the kind of polish a submission needs. I’ll edit your article so it reads clearly and help it meet your target journal’s word limit and style, and I’ll flag anything that might trip up a reader or reviewer. I can’t guarantee acceptance, since that rests on your research and the journal’s decision, but I’ll make sure the writing is doing your work justice.

Do you check my clinical facts, data, or sources?

No. You’re the clinical expert, so I don’t verify your clinical content, check your data, or confirm your references and sources. My work is the writing around them. If something reads inconsistently, like a figure that doesn’t match your text or a reference that isn’t in your list, I’ll point it out for you to check, but the clinical accuracy stays with you.

English isn’t my first language. Can you help, and is there an extra charge?

Yes, and there’s no extra charge. Many of the nurses and clinicians I work with write in English as an additional language, and I’ll make your writing read clearly and naturally while keeping your meaning and your voice. It’s the same flat rate as any other project.

Ready when you are

Your clinical knowledge is hard-won, and the writing should be just as clear. I’ll give your article or thesis a final, careful read so it’s ready to submit. Whenever you’re ready, I’d be glad to hear what you’re working on.

If your work is more research or laboratory science than clinical practice, see my science and medical editing. For a subject I haven’t listed, take a look at the other fields I work across.